When arrested nearly seven hours later, the man told police he had cleared security once but returned to the terminal to retrieve his camera bag. He said he ran down the up-escalator in the exit area to avoid long lines at a security checkpoint for fear he would miss his flight.

``I don't think he had any criminal intent,'' said James Stogner, operations manager for Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. ``People do irrational things - especially football fans.''

The security breach all but shut down Hartsfield, as flights into and out of the city were delayed on the busy travel weekend before Thanksgiving.

Private security workers, National Guard troops and police had chased the man to no avail.

Thousands of passengers - including the man later taken into police custody - and airport employees were forced into parking lots outside the terminal while the entire airport was searched.

The Federal Aviation Administration halted departures at Hartsfield and planes in other cities destined for Atlanta were told to remain on the ground, FAA spokesman Christopher White said. International flights were allowed to land and passengers were held in the concourse.

Benjamin DeCosta, the airport's general manager, said from 5,000 to 10,000 passengers and employees were ordered out of the airport.

The passenger exit had been staffed by two private guards with International Total Services, which handles security at Hartsfield. Police and National Guard troops were nearby. Officials at the Cleveland-based security company did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

After the entire airport was searched, all passengers had to go through even tighter security.

The football fan, Michael S. Lasseter, 32, of Gainesville, Ga., said he re-entered the airport with other passengers and returned to the Northwest Airlines gate. He missed his flight to Memphis and was waiting for another when, authorities said, Northwest agents identified him from a security videotape and he was arrested. He was being held at the airport police precinct, and could face federal charges, authorities said.

Lasseter, wearing a Georgia T-shirt and jogging pants, told authorities he didn't know he had been chased or that anybody was looking for him. He was traveling with his son and uncle, who made the flight, to attend Saturday's Georgia-Mississippi football game in Oxford, Miss., about 60 miles southeast of Memphis.

``I'm as blown away by this as anybody,'' Lasseter's wife, Carla, said Friday night in a telephone interview from her home.

Planes began taking off again after 4 p.m. Flight schedules were not expected to be back to normal until Saturday.

``If you want me to fly, you've got to stop this kind of nonsense,'' said Jerry Presley of Kansas City, who had been in Atlanta on business. ``They should have stopped this guy. There should have been someone to catch this guy.''

Heath Harmon, an epidemiologist from Boulder, Colo., was trying to get home after two weeks of training at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites).

``At least I have friends in Atlanta so if I get bumped back I have a place to go,'' Harmon said. ``I'd rather feel safe than just get there and not feel good about it.''

AirTran Airways canceled 22 flights and passengers had to get off 18 others that were preparing to leave Atlanta, spokesman Tad Hutcheson said. It also diverted 17 flights to airports in the region, such as Macon and Chattanooga, Tenn.

Delta Air Lines which carries more than 70 percent of passengers at Hartsfield, canceled 147 flights because of the breach and delayed hundreds of others, spokeswoman Peggy Estes said. The airline also diverted at least eight flights en route to Atlanta.

Commuter trains and buses were not allowed to enter the airport, stranding thousands more people.

``We'll wait it out,'' said Mike McDonough of Tucker, who was headed to Italy with his wife. ``Hopefully, we'll get out today.''

Georgia Sen. Max Cleland was among those stranded at the airport - he was supposed to take a flight to Savannah for a 4 p.m. news conference on aviation security.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011117/ts/atlanta_airport_breach_17.html